


Dreams and Warnings

by danceswithhamsters01



Series: Reddit Prompts [60]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dreams and Nightmares, Fifth Blight (Dragon Age), Gen, Pre-Blight, Precognition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 15:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19748722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithhamsters01/pseuds/danceswithhamsters01
Summary: Based on a prompt from r/dragonage.Prompt 6 Modern Day AU: Your OC wakes up from a bad dream.





	Dreams and Warnings

Darkness. It crept out of the freshly formed cracks in the earth and spread like oil, killing everything it came into contact with. People, animals, plants, even the earth itself. Nothing it touched was spared. Monsters crawled from the broken earth, like twisted mockeries of sea creatures leaping out of the depths of the ocean. I did the only thing I could.

I ran.

I ran as the ground lurchedand sundered behind me. I ran as the creatures lumbered out of the dark sickness of their birthing place. I ran as they set their hungry sights on the few people who hadn’t died to the sickness. The land ended as I skidded to a halt, nearly tumbling over a ledge. The sea lay below and in front of me, untouched by the chaos on the land. Behind me, the snarling hungry cries of the monsters were growing louder. A bone-rattling roar and the sound of massive wings beating the air drew my attention upward.

It was scaled. It was huge. And teeth, so many teeth. So many very _sharp_ teeth. Its eyes glittered with intelligence.

I looked back to the sea. A soft voice spoke in my mind. _“Jump. It’s your only chance.”_

I sat up covered in icy sweat and my heart thundering in my ears. Once my wits were more or less in a group, if not completely sorted, I looked around. Moonlight was pouring in from a window as its sheers danced in the breeze. Bethany had left the window to our room slightly ajar. My younger sister rolled over in her bed on the opposite side of the room from me, murmuring something in her sleep that I couldn’t quite catch.

A dream. It’d been a dream.

But it’d happened for the fourth time in a week. That usually meant something. Dad would use dreams as a sort of augur. The more a dream repeated itself, the more important it was to listen to what it was saying. At least that’s what Dad would’ve said, were he not, you know, dead. Dreams weren’t simply just dreams for mages. I’d gotten more than just Dad’s eyes and killer smile, I inherited his magic, too.

I sank back into my pillows and sighed. I’d need to talk with Mother in the morning. I tried to get back to sleep.

“Mara, I do not care _what_ you dreamed about, it’s not a good enough reason for us to just pick up and leave!”

“But Mom, it’s happened four--” I didn’t get a chance to finish.

“Have you stopped to consider that maybe you just have an overactive imagination? Think of your brother! If we went along with this little hair-brained notion of yours, we’d be picking up and moving in the middle of his senior year! Carver doesn’t need the extra pressure of adjusting to a new school, not when the recruiters from both the universities he’s considering are going to be around! If he plays his cards right, one of them could offer him a scholarship! A _scholarship,_ Mara!”

I could feel my blood heating up. I bit my tongue. _Breathe. Focus. Calm down,_ I told myself. _Accidentally setting something on fire with your magic won’t help anything._ I feel the angry heat in my veins beginning to cool as I release my grip on the Fade energy I’d unconsciously gathered. It was no use arguing with Mother. If Dad had said the same thing I had, she would’ve believed him! My word alone was almost never enough for Mother to take it seriously. I could literally be on fire and she wouldn’t believe me unless someone else mentioned it.

Carver was her favorite, it was plain to see. Not only was he the only son, but he also wasn’t a mage like Bethany and I. He was _normal._ He wasn’t the reason why our family picked up and moved so much. He could be himself, all 6 feet 5 inches of his surly, cocky self. Bethany was content to stay near home and talk to almost no one outside of the family. I wasn’t. I wanted to see more, do more, _be_ more. Lothering was small and boring. The only upside to it was that the neighbors weren’t all that curious about Bethy and I beyond saying “hello” once in a while. Probably why Dad finally bought land and built a house here.

My eyes drifted to a recruitment pamphlet for the Ferelden Royal Army on the kitchen table. I’d taken it from the far-too-friendly recruiting officer just to shut him up. He’d sneaked up on my buddy and me during our lunch break at work yesterday. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t give the idea some thought. At least I’d get out of this boring place for a while and have different people shouting at me. I was old enough, all I’d have to do is get an exam and sign those papers. But that dream… how could I leave knowing my family would be in danger?

“Mara Naomi Hawke, are you even listening to me?”

“Er, sorry. Must have drifted off there. What was it?” I say after peeling my eyes from the pamphlet.

Mother shook her head and sighed. “I swear you’ve got a head full of candy floss. Bring back eggs and milk after work, we’re running low.”

I nodded, but couldn’t shake the dream from my mind.


End file.
